The new variety of red raspberry, Rubus idaeus L., was created in the course of a planned breeding program carried at Riwaka Nelson, New Zealand. The parents used to make the cross were the unpatented selection ORUS 576-47 (since named ‘Lewis’) (seed parent) from Oregon and the unreleased, unpatented selection 86105M57 (pollen parent) from Riwaka, New Zealand.
The controlled cross performed to produce ‘Wakefield’ was carried out in a greenhouse in 1990 and resulting seed was germinated and grown at Riwaka, Nelson, New Zealand. A total of 115 seedlings were planted on land at Riwaka in 1991. The original plant of the new variety was selected and given the breeders code 90352EK-6 (and subsequently recoded as HR40 at the advanced selection stage) during the 1993-94 summer (Southern Hemisphere).